Even though we’re in PLP, we still do somewhat normal units. And for this post, I’ll be talking about our most recent assignment in History.
Earlier on, we went through WWI and so, naturally, we moved on to WWII. We started learning about all the major battles and events, mostly chronologically. Then, at about halfway through our learning of the war, we were given the choice of three books to read regarding the war.
1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
2. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
3. Code Name Varity by Elizabeth Wein
I chose Unbroken because I’ve heard of the story and it really sparked my interest. Then, we had spring break and a little bit after that to read the books, and then we began the work side of it. We needed to write a book review in our book. This didn’t sound too bad to me as I had read the book and am fairly good at writing.
But I’ll just let you read it instead of me talking about writing the book review.
Below is my book review on Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.
Book Review – Unbroken
Author: Laura Hillenbrand
A total of 16 million Americans served in WWII, and the veterans remaining are fading quickly. Every single WWII veteran, whether they’re American, German or French, have a story to tell. And every day, on average 372 die, and with them, their stories. War is not something that is easily talked about, and Louie Zamperini definitely didn’t have it easy. Laura Hillenbrand, author of two nonfiction books including Unbroken, and her books have sold over 13 million copies, and each were adapted into movies. With Unbroken, she takes us down the road of Louie Zamperini, a man with a story.
From the moment Louie could walk, he was a trouble maker. Restaurants, shops and bakeries in the population 1,800 town of Torrance all paid the price. He soon grew very confident in his bold and resourceful behaviour, and that would define him in has manhood, and prove very helpful in his future. Reading through this section of the book gives me the feeling that Louie is growing as a person, and it gives me great hopes for his future. This well written section of the book is easily a highlight because of the trouble making nature it is written in.
As Louie aged into his early teen years, he was still having trouble fitting in with other kids. Pete Zamperini, who was the successful and respected son of the Zamperinis, realized the potential in Louie as a track runner. After some practice, and time, Louie had a mania for running. This began a multitude of races, one after another, with Louie breaking one record after another. In one race, the 1933 UCLA Cross Country two-mile race where Louie ran effortlessly, breaking the course record and winning by more than a quarter of a mile, when finishing the race Louie described almost fainting, not from exertion, but “from the realization of what he was.” (Hillenbrand). He realizes who he is as a person, which he’d been searching for his whole childhood. He then goes on to compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games where Louie would run against track legends, and meet Adolf Hitler himself. Louie’s Olympic exerience makes you feel proud of the small boy from Torrance that you have been reading about, and Laura Hillenbrand describes this section extremely well. The Olympics are a highlight of the book, and creates a growing tension inside of you for what is soon to come. Louie does well in his events and has extremely high hopes for the next Olympics. But things don’t always go as planned, and this is something Louie would soon know all too well.
Louie Zamperini was ready for war in August, 1942. He joined his crew on the Hawaiian islands, where they were assigned a rickety B-24D bomber plane, which are known for dropping out of the sky. Louie and his crew flew a few missions together, which resulted in one very close call getting back to base. But it wasn’t until flying a search mission when every bomber crew’s nightmare became Louie’s reality. Their new plane, the Green Hornet, was barely deemed flight worthy when it dropped out of the sky into the Pacific. Him and two other of his fellow bombardiers then drift through the ocean for a total of 47 days, surviving on the fish, sharks or birds they catch, and the rainfall from rampant ocean storms. When they finally see land on the horizon, they are unsure whether or not to be thankful when they are scooped out of the ocean by the Japanese. Louie and Phil, the survivors of the raft They go from POW camp to POW camp, where they are malnourished and beaten daily. By sabotaging or stealing anything the Japanese put in their hands, “the men were no longer passive captives. They were soldiers again.” This is what got Louie and his fellow captives through two years of imprisonment. During Louie’s captivity, a Japanese corporal called “The Bird” was particularily harsh to Louie. This man was insane, and sadistic, beating the men for no reason, and resulting in many broken people. Louie is finally released when the war is over in 1945 and the Japanese leave the POW camp. Louie embarks on his long journey home and discovered his PTSD, before it was a condition. He eventually marries and becomes a Christian. After reading this exhilarating section where Louie goes through unthinkable pain and suffering, you realize how truly terrible the war really was. Filled with details, this section is extremely well written in that you follow Louie through the toughest few years of life, as if you were watching from right behind him. This is definitely one of my favourite parts, bevause of the reality of everything that happens to Louie. Louie Zamperini, a mischief maker, theif, Olympian, WWII bombardier, castaway, survivor, prisoner, and husband is finally home.
Laura Hillenbrand leads us through the life of Louie Zamperini, a man with an extraordinary story. She describes his life with great detail, and showing us the transformations in Louie as a person firsthand. While excelling at giving us a great story filled with gripping events, she sometimes lacks in the ability to get inside Louie’s head. Laura Hillenbrand explains what Louie is seeing, hearing, feeling, and saying, but not what he is thinking. Whether or not that’s the fact that the 83 year old Louie isn’t keen on speaking about his wartime experiences, we still don’t know the feelings that Louie had on his crazy adventure. The book is a sensational and emotional masterpiece, taking us on a roller coaster of feelings as we see just how unbroken Loui’s Zamperini really is.
Well, that’s it. Thanks.
See you.